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Institutional theory and MNC subsidiary HRM practices: evidence from a three-country study

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Abstract

This study sets out to explore human resource management (HRM) practices in multinational corporation (MNC) subsidiaries within an institutional theory framework. Based on a sample of 158 subsidiaries of MNCs operating in the United States, Russia and Finland, the paper examines factors hypothesised to influence the HRM practices adapted in US, Japanese and European MNC subsidiaries located in Russia, Finland and the US. The results indicate significant differences in HRM practices used across host countries. Both the status of the subsidiary human resource department and the degree to which the subsidiary was involved in knowledge transfer with other parts of the MNC had a significant impact on the selection of HRM practices.

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Notes

  1. The lack of significant difference in the assessment of HR departments’ status between the general managers and HR managers may be noted, as several previous studies (e.g., Wright et al., 2001) have indicated that the two groups tend to differ in their views about the competencies held by and the roles played by HR professionals and departments.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Swedish Research Council and the Academy of Finland for financial support of this project, and Sergey Morgoulis-Jakoushev and Marina Libo for research assistance. We are grateful to two anonymous reviewers and Departmental Editor Mary Ann Von Glinow for their insightful comments and helpful suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Management and Organisation, Swedish School of Economics, Helsinki, Finland

    Ingmar Björkman

  2. INSEAD Euro-Asia and Comparative Research Centre, Fontainebleau, Texas, USA

    Ingmar Björkman

  3. Stockholm School of Economics, Stockholm, Sweden

    Carl F Fey

  4. Stockholm School of Economics, St Petersburg, Russia

    Carl F Fey

  5. Department of Managerial Sciences, J. Mack Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Hyeon Jeong Park

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  1. Ingmar Björkman
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  2. Carl F Fey
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Correspondence to Ingmar Björkman.

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Accepted by Mary Ann Von Glinow, Departmental Editor, 31 August 2006. This paper has been with the authors for three revisions.

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Björkman, I., Fey, C. & Park, H. Institutional theory and MNC subsidiary HRM practices: evidence from a three-country study. J Int Bus Stud 38, 430–446 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400267

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